FRONTIERS OF CANCER RESEARCH

A cancer biology lab of the IBB department at POSTECH, the Tumor Microenvironment Laboratory aims to discover novel therapeutic approaches to anti-cancer immunity by targeting the interplay between the tumor microenvironment and immune cells.

POSTECH

Pohang University of Science and Technology is the premier institution for the sciences in South Korea.

IBB

The Integrative Biosciences and Biotechnology department at POSTECH promotes in-depth high-impact research in the life sciences.

BK21

BK21Plus of the Korean Research Foundation is one of the major funding programs that advances scientific research in South Korea.

Our Team

The greatest asset of our laboratory is our team of talented researchers.
These are the scientists who are exploring the frontiers of cancer biology.

Rumeysa Dogan

1st year MS-PhD Student

Research Areas

Tumor Hypoxia

A SEVERE ANTAGONIST TO CHEMO- AND RADIOTHERAPY

Proliferation of tumor cells causes expansion of the tumor volume, resulting in regions starved of oxygen and nutrients from the blood vessels. This low oxygen tension, or hypoxia, creates a unique tumor-specific microenvironment. Hypoxic microenvironments confer tumor cells resistant to chemo- and radiotherapy due to the limited diffusion of drugs or ineffective reach of ionizing radiation to the tumor cells. We investigate the role of macrophages in sensing hypoxia through the hypoxia-inducible factor-1 (HIF-1), a master regulator of many downstream genes involved in cellular adaptation to hypoxia, and what effects it has on tumor growth and progression.

CAMERA

MUSIC CENTER

MESSAGES

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CHANNELS

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cGAS-STING Pathway

The cyclic GMP-AMP Synthase – Stimulator of Interferon Genes (cGAS-STING) pathway is a prominent immune mechanism of dendritic cells in cancer. Chemo- radiotherapy induces DNA damage in tumor cells, which can be detected by dendritic cells through the cGAS-STING pathway to secrete interferon genes and ultimately mount an immune response. STING is an exciting immunotherapy subject in modern cancer biology and can forerun how immune modifications can be coordinated with conventional cancer therapy.

Cancer Cachexia

Cachexia is a clinical condition of severe weight loss that is induced by chronic illnesses such as cancer. It is mainly due to the metabolic changes in the muscle, fat, and bone tissues that are correlated with the disease advancement. Cancer cachexia prevents cancer treatment options for late stage cancer patients and impede upon recovery, hence posing as a grave and significant disease process. Our research in this developing field focuses on the mechanisms of cachexia development and the various biological treatment strategies.

Publications

2018 | Radiation Research

Computational Modeling and Clonogenic Assay for Radioenhancement of Gold Nanoparticles Using 3D Live Cell Images